Geranium plant named ‘Luscious Linda’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Geranium  plant named ‘Luscious Linda’, characterized by its outwardly spreading, trailing and mounded plant habit; green-colored foliage; freely and uniformly flowering habit; long flowering period; purple violet-colored flowers; and excellent garden performance.

Botanical designation: Geranium hybrida.

Cultivar denomination: ‘Luscious Linda’.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is co-pending with the following related application: Geranium Plant Named ‘Tanya Rendall’; U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 11/245,379 Applicant: Richard Rendall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant, botanically known as Geranium hybrida, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Luscious Linda.

The new Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Kirkwall Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom. The objective of the breeding program was to create new freely flowering Geranium cultivars that have a long flowering period and are suitable for hanging basket and garden use.

The new Geranium originated from a cross-pollination in 1998 of the Geranium hybrida cultivar Black Ice, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed selection of Geranium oxonianum hybrid, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Geranium was discovered and selected by the Inventor in 2000 as a single flowering plant from within the resultant progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Kirkwall Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by divisions in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom since 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the cultivar Luscious Linda have not been observed under all possible environmental and cultural conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Luscious Linda’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Luscious Linda’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Outwardly spreading, trailing and mounded plant habit.     -   2. Freely and uniformly flowering habit.     -   3. Green-colored foliage.     -   4. Long flowering period.     -   5. Purple violet-colored flowers.     -   6. Excellent garden performance.

Compared to plants of the parents, plants of the new Geranium have a more mounded plant habit. In addition, plants of the new Geranium and the parents differ in flower coloration as plants of the parents have pink-colored flowers.

Plants of the new Geranium can be compared to plants of the cultivar Tanya Rendall, U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 11/245,379. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Hillegom, The Netherlands, plants of the new Geranium differed from plants of the cultivar Tanya Rendall in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Geranium were smaller than plants of the         cultivar Tanya Rendall.     -   2. Plants of the new Geranium had green-colored foliage whereas         plants of the cultivar Tanya Rendall had brown-colored foliage.     -   3. Plants of the new Geranium and the cultivar Tanya Rendall         differed slightly in flower coloration.

Plants of the new Geranium can also be compared to plants of the cultivar Dusky Crug, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom, plants of the new Geranium differed from plants of the cultivar Dusky Crug in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Geranium had a more trailing and mounded         plant habit than plants of the cultivar Dusky Crug.     -   2. Plants of the new Geranium and the cultivar Dusky Crug         differed in flower color as plants of the cultivar Dusky Crug         have creamy white-colored flowers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

The accompanying colored photograph illustrates the overall appearance of the new Geranium, showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photograph may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Geranium. The photograph comprises a side perspective view of a typical one-year old flowering plant of ‘Luscious Linda’ grown in a hanging basket container.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. Plants used for the following description were about one year old and grown in 20-cm hanging basket containers under outdoor field conditions which closely approximate commercial production conditions during the summer in Hillegom, The Netherlands. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 5° C. to 25° C. and night temperatures ranged from 2° C. to 12° C.

-   Botanical classification: Geranium hybrida cultivar Luscious Linda. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female, or seed, parent.—Geranium hybrida cultivar Black             Ice, not patented.         -   Male, or pollen, parent.—Unnamed selection of Geranium             oxonianum hybrid, not patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—By divisions.         -   Time to initiate roots, summer.—About three weeks at 18° C.         -   Time to initiate roots, winter.—About five weeks at 18° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About four             weeks at 18° C.         -   Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About six             weeks at 18° C.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching. -   Plant description:     -   -   Plant form and habit.—Perennial flowering plant; outwardly             spreading, trailing and mounded growth habit.         -   Plant height.—About 17 cm to 25 cm.         -   Plant diameter.—About 35 cm to 50 cm.         -   Lateral branch description.—Length: About 75 cm. Diameter:             About 1 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 137C.         -   Foliage description.—Arrangement: Opposite; simple. Length:             About 4 cm to 6 cm. Width: About 6 cm to 8 cm. Shape:             Roughly orbicular; seven-lobed, each lobe with three shallow             secondary lobes. Apex: Acute. Base: Cordate. Margin: Lobed.             Texture, upper surface: Sparsely pubescent. Texture, lower             surface: Pubescent. Venation pattern: Palmate; reticulate.             Petiole: Length: About 8 cm to 20 cm. Diameter: About 2 mm             to 3 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Pubescent.             Color: Developing and fully expanded foliage, upper surface:             139A. Developing and fully expanded foliage, lower surface:             138B. Venation, upper surface: 145C. Venation, lower             surface: 150D. Petiole: 137C. -   Flower description:     -   -   Appearance.—Single rounded star-shaped flat flowers with             five petals. Flowers face upright to outwardly. Flowers             positioned about 3 cm to 4 cm above the foliar plane.         -   Natural flowering season.—Long flowering period, from early             summer through the fall in Scotland, United Kingdom;             flowering continuous during this period. Flowers not             persistent.         -   Fragrance.—None detected.         -   Flower longevity.—About one week.         -   Flower diameter.—About 1.5 cm to 2 cm.         -   Flower depth.—About 5 mm to 10 mm.         -   Flower buds.—Length: About 5 mm. Diameter: About 3 mm.             Shape: Ovoid. Texture: Pubescent. Color: 148A.         -   Petals.—Length: About 1.5 cm. Width: About 1 cm. Shape:             Broadly spatulate; recurved towards the apex. Apex:             Emarginate. Base: Attenuate. Margin: Entire; undulate.             Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth. Color: When             opening and fully opened, upper surface: 82A; throat, 155C             with nectar guides, 82A. When opening and fully opened,             lower surface: 82B; towards the base, 155C with nectar             guides, 82A.         -   Sepals.—Quantity: Five. Length: About 7 mm. Width: About             4 mm. Shape: Elliptic; apex, aristate; base, fused. Texture,             upper and lower surfaces: Smooth. Color, upper and lower             surfaces: 146A.         -   Peduncle.—Length: About 2.5 cm to 4 cm. Diameter: About             1 mm. Strength: Moderately strong. Texture: Pubescent.             Color: 148B.         -   Reproductive organs.—Stamens: Quantity per flower: Ten             arranged in two whorls. Filament length: About 5 mm. Anther             shape: Oblong, curved. Anther color: 78B. Pollen amount:             None observed. Pistils: Quantity per flower: One;             five-parted. Pistil length: About 5 mm. Stigma color: 84A.             Ovary color: 138D densely covered with white hairs.         -   Seed description.—Seed development has not been observed. -   Disease/pest resistance: Plants of the new Geranium have not been     noted to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Geranium. -   Garden performance: Plants of the new Geranium have been observed to     have excellent garden performance and to tolerate wind and rain.     Plants of the new Geranium have been observed to be tolerate     temperatures from about 2° C. to about 30° C. 

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Geranium plant named ‘Luscious Linda’, as illustrated and described. 